


Wear Your Seatbelt

by MissCrazyWriter321



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Caring disguised as sarcasm, Communication is hard, Friendship, Gen, Leaving Home, Pre-Canon, Teenagers, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 02:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30082290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCrazyWriter321/pseuds/MissCrazyWriter321
Summary: Duke's finally leaving Haven behind, but first, he needs to say goodbye.
Relationships: Duke Crocker & Nathan Wuornos
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Wear Your Seatbelt

**Author's Note:**

> How many stories am I going to write about teenagers leaving Haven? At least two, apparently.

It’s not fair. He didn’t ask for any of this. He didn’t ask for a jerk dad, or for a mom that cared more about her drink than her own son. He didn’t ask for this life, or for the choices he had to make to survive. He didn’t ask to become like his father, selfish and alone, looking out for number one. He didn’t ask for  _ any  _ of this.

And yet. 

He doesn’t tell his mother goodbye. He thinks about it, briefly, when his truck is packed and he’s ready to leave. After all, for all of her (many, many) flaws, she is his mother. Maybe he owes her something. But when he steps into the room, hands shoved in his pockets, she doesn’t even acknowledge him. She’s too caught up in her bottle and her soap opera to bother with her only son.

So he does what he should have done long ago: He runs. He hops into his truck, slams the door behind him, and peels out of the driveway. If he’s lucky, it’s loud enough for her to hear. 

He drives mindlessly at first, desperate only to get  _ away,  _ but when he reaches the first stop sign, he considers. Should he say a few goodbyes before he leaves? To who? There’s Julia, or there would be, but she left for college last week. Most of his friends are passed out, sleeping off the party from the night before. If he’s honest with himself, he doubts any of them would even care. 

No one would care. 

That thought burns, and he slams his foot on the accelerator with far too much force. All of his time in Haven, all of his efforts to make people like him, to see that he’s not his father, and none of it matters. No one’s even going to care that he’s gone. 

That should be the push needed to drive him right out of Haven, and he doesn’t even realize that’s not where he’s headed until he’s already there. The house is exactly the same, though it’s been the better part of a decade since he’s been over there. He can’t say he’s exactly surprised. Garland Wuornos has never been a fan of change. 

He’s not altogether sure what he’s doing here. He and Nathan may have formed a tentative truce, mostly out of necessity-it’s a small town, and they have all the same friends, so actively hating each other takes too much work-but it has been a long time since the two of them have truly been friends. 

And sure, that’s his fault. He knows that. Not that it counts for much, but he regrets those stupid tacks every day. But kids are cruel, especially to those they don’t understand. Picking on the Troubled Kid got him popularity points, and back then, that had been all that mattered. 

He sits in his truck for a long time, just staring at the house. Should he even bother? It’s just that he’s  _ leaving.  _ This place has been his home for his whole life, and he’s leaving it behind. He just wants someone to care. He and Nathan were practically brothers once, so maybe...

The front door swings open, and Nathan steps out, brows furrowed. “Duke?” He asks, or at least that’s Duke’s best guess, as he can’t hear through the glass.

With a sigh, Duke rolls down his window and nods. “Hey, Nate.”

“What are you doing here?” Nathan’s eyes are sharp and suspicious, and it stings, deserved as it is. 

“I’m leaving Haven.” He’s known it, of course, but it’s the first time he’s actually voiced it aloud, and it takes him a moment to push past that to his next thought. “Just wanted to stop in and say bye.” 

Nathan scoffs, taking in the pickup. “Where are you gonna  _ go?” _

“Wherever I want!” He can’t help but grin, the sensation of  _ freedom  _ finally settling under his skin, tugging at his bones. He won’t be tied to this  _ stupid  _ town with this  _ stupid  _ life and these  _ stupid  _ expectations any longer. “Not like anyone can stop me now.” 

“Hm.” He hates the way Nathan says that, the way he can put so much judgement into that little sound. “And how are you going to  _ pay  _ for it?” 

Well, that stings a little, for all that it’s a fair point. He falls back on his one true friend: humor. “Y’know, I’d tell you, but your dad’s a cop, so you probably don’t want to know.” He shouldn’t have come. This was stupid. He and Nathan aren’t friends, and haven’t been for a long time. Why did he ever think-

“Are you wearing your seatbelt?”

“Excuse me?” Irritation rises up inside him at the  _ nerve  _ of this guy. What is he going to do? Get his dad to give Duke a ticket? That’s _ real _ mature. 

“Your seatbelt.” He braces himself for the dry comment, the rude remark, but none comes. Nathan seems weirdly serious when he adds, “Dangerous out there. Reckless drivers. People not looking where they’re going. And I know you won’t be following the speed limit, so…. At least tell me you’re wearing your seatbelt.” 

It takes a few moments for the words to register. When they do, Duke can’t help but laugh. “Careful, Nathan. That almost sounds like you’re worried about me.”

“Nah.” Nathan smirks. “Just don’t want anything to happen to that truck.” 

A weight on his chest he hadn’t even been fully aware of lifts, and he rolls his eyes, shifting his truck into reverse. He’s gotten what he came for. Time to go. 

He hesitates, though, before taking off. Ridiculously, he’s struck with the thought that he’s going to  _ miss  _ Nathan. Clearing his throat, he asks, “You’re going off to college soon, right?”

“Next week,” Nathan confirms. 

Nathan was born for college. Yeah, in highschool, that made him kind of a nerd, but highschool’s over now. And out in the real world, something tells Duke that Nathan’s going to thrive. If he could just lighten up a little... 

“I don’t want anything happening to your truck either, you hear?” 

This seems to surprise Nathan, just for a moment. Then he rallies with a shake of his head. “It won’t.  _ I  _ drive the speed limit.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Bye, Nathan.”

A short nod. “Duke.” 

Feelings a good deal lighter than he did only a half hour before, he pulls out of the driveway, shaking his head. It’s over. He’s free. He’s leaving Haven, and he’s never coming back. 

(His father’s voice echoes through his mind, insisting that he return to Haven if the Troubles ever do, but he presses it firmly down. It’s been a decade since the Troubles went away, after all. Clearly, they’re gone for good. Just like him.) 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Nathan, him wearing the seatbelt will definitely protect the truck. That's how science works. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
